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Former Penn State president arraigned

Former Penn State President Graham Spanier is free on $125,000 unsecured bail after being arraigned on charges related to the child sex abuse case of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Spanier was arraigned Wednesday morning by a Harrisburg district justice on charges including perjury, obstruction and conspiracy. He has denied the allegations and claimed he is being framed for political purposes.

Despite the reporters and cameras swarming around him, Spanier drove himself to his preliminary arraignment and looked straight ahead, declining to say anything.

Inside the courtroom, Spanier sat quietly as the judge explained how his criminal case would proceed.

Spanier is facing eight counts relating to an alleged cover-up of Sandusky's sex abuse crimes from 1998 and 2001, and then allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating the case.

The 64-year-old Spanier led Penn State for 16 years before being forced out a year ago when Sandusky was charged along with two of Spanier's top underlings. Spanier is a faculty member on paid leave.

Prosecutors charged Spanier and added counts against Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. They were previously were charged with failure to report suspected abuse and perjury.

They faced their arraignment last week in front of the same judge and state Attorney General Linda Kelly wants them all on trial together.

Kelly is arguing the three men conspired to keep what they knew about the Sandusky allegations a secret in a so-called "conspiracy of silence."

After Spanier's court appearance, his attorney Elizabeth Ainsley tried to clear the air.

"It's absolutely ridiculous. Dr. Spanier was never given a chance to speak to the grand jury to present his side of the story. And we look forward to the chance to present his side of the story in the future," Ainsley said.

Spanier's defense team declined to present its side of the story to the media. Spanier is out on bail and has been ordered by the judge to stay in Pennsylvania.

Spanier is scheduled to be back in court next Friday to hear if the judge believes there's enough evidence against him to try the case.

It's likely the date will be pushed back to January.

Sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for child molestation.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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